PILLAR GUIDE VERIFIED

ITR Filing & Compliance Guide.

Filing the wrong form, missing deadlines, or ignoring advance tax can cost you ₹5,000 in penalties plus 1% monthly interest. Here's every deadline, form, and rule for FY 2026-27.

Which ITR Form Should You File?

Filing the wrong ITR form is treated as no return filed. The penalties apply as if you never filed. Use this matrix to pick the right one:

Form	Who Files	Key Conditions
ITR-1 (SAHAJ)	Salaried individuals	Resident, salary + 1 house property + other sources, total income ≤ ₹50L, no capital gains, no VDA, no foreign assets
ITR-2	Individuals & HUFs without business income	Includes capital gains, multiple house properties, VDA income, foreign assets, agricultural income above ₹5,000
ITR-3	Business / profession income	Any person with income from business or profession. Includes partners with remuneration from firm
ITR-4 (SUGAM)	Presumptive business income	Section 44AD / 44ADA / 44AE, total income ≤ ₹50L. Individual, HUF, and firm (other than LLP)

QUICK DECISION RULE

Salaried with ≤₹50L and no capital gains → ITR-1. Have capital gains or foreign assets → ITR-2. Run a business → ITR-3. Presumptive under 44AD → ITR-4. When in doubt, file ITR-2 (covers everything except business income).

Filing Deadlines

Missing the deadline means late fees under Section 234F, interest under 234A, and loss of the ability to carry forward certain losses.

Category	Deadline	Who
Non-audit cases	31 July 2027	Salaried, freelancers, small businesses, individuals without audit requirement
Audit cases (Section 44AB)	31 October 2027	Businesses requiring tax audit, partners of audited firms
Transfer pricing cases	30 November 2027	Entities with international or specified domestic transactions requiring TP report
Revised / Updated return	31 Dec 2027 (revised) / 24 months from AY end (updated)	Anyone correcting errors in original return

BUSINESS LOSS CARRY-FORWARD DEADLINE

You must file by the original due date (31 July or 31 October) to carry forward business losses. If you file a belated return, you lose the right to carry forward business losses to future years — except under specific circumstances.

Late Filing Penalties — Section 234F

If you file your ITR after the due date, Section 234F imposes a flat penalty based on your total income. This is in addition to interest under Section 234A.

Total Income	Penalty (234F)
Up to ₹2,50,000	NIL
₹2,50,001 to ₹5,00,000	₹1,000
Above ₹5,00,000	₹5,000

warning PLUS INTEREST UNDER 234A

On top of the 234F penalty, you pay 1% per month (or part thereof) on the unpaid tax amount under Section 234A. This interest accrues from the original due date until the date of actual filing.

REAL COST EXAMPLE

Income ₹12L, tax liability ₹80,000, filed 3 months late. Penalty: ₹5,000 (234F). Interest: ₹80,000 × 1% × 3 = ₹2,400 (234A). Total extra cost: ₹7,400 — just for filing late.

Advance Tax Schedule

If your total tax liability exceeds ₹10,000 after TDS, you must pay advance tax in instalments. Missing these triggers interest under Sections 234B and 234C.

Due Date	Cumulative % of Total Tax
15 June 2026	15%
15 September 2026	45%
15 December 2026	75%
15 March 2027	100%

check_circle Exempt: Full TDS Salaried

If your employer deducts full TDS and you have no other income, no advance tax is needed. The TDS itself qualifies as advance tax.

check_circle Exempt: 44AD / 44ADA

Presumptive income taxpayers pay 100% advance tax in a single instalment by 15 March.

INTEREST ON SHORTFALL — 234B & 234C

234B: 1% per month on shortfall if advance tax paid is less than 90% of total liability.
234C: 1% per month on the difference between instalment-wise due and actual paid (if paid amount is less than the cumulative percentage). Both interests run from the month following the due date.

Revised Return — Section 139(5)

If you discover any mistake or omission in your original ITR, you can file a revised return to correct it. This is your safety net for genuine errors.

check_circle Deadline

Must be filed before 31 December 2027 (end of the assessment year). You can also file before the completion of assessment, whichever is earlier.

check_circle What You Can Fix

Correct errors in income reporting, claim missed deductions, change tax regime choice, fix incorrect bank details for refund, or report income omitted by mistake.

warning When Revised Return Is NOT Allowed

Cannot be used if assessment proceedings have already been completed for that year. The revision must happen before the AO finishes the assessment.

REVISED ≠ UPDATED

Revised return corrects errors and omissions. Updated return (Section 139(8A)) allows you to add missed income that was never reported. They serve different purposes — see the next section.

Updated Return — Section 139(8A)

Introduced in Budget 2022, an updated return lets you report additional income that was not disclosed in the original or revised return. It comes with a penalty — the additional tax.

Filing Window	Additional Tax
Within 12 months from end of AY	25% of additional tax
Between 12–24 months from end of AY	50% of additional tax

warning CRITICAL RULES

Updated return can only ADD missed income — you cannot reduce income or claim additional refunds
Multiple updated returns are allowed — the latest one prevails
Not allowed if a loss return was filed (updated return cannot be used to claim or increase a loss)
Not allowed during a pending assessment or reassessment for the same year

WHEN TO USE

You forgot to report interest income from a bank FD. You received a payment that wasn't in your original ITR. You had foreign income you didn't disclose. File an updated return, pay the additional tax plus penalty, and sleep peacefully.

Tax Audit Thresholds — Section 44AB

If your turnover or gross receipts exceed certain limits, you are mandatorily required to get your accounts audited by a Chartered Accountant. The audit report (Form 3CA/3CB/3CD) must be filed before the ITR due date.

Category	Threshold
Business (regular scheme)	Turnover > ₹1 crore
Business (≥95% digital transactions)	Turnover > ₹10 crore
Profession	Gross receipts > ₹50 lakh

AUDIT MEANS LATER DEADLINE

If you are required to get a tax audit under 44AB, your ITR due date shifts from 31 July to 31 October. If you also have transfer pricing, it shifts to 30 November.

Form 16 / AIS / TIS Reconciliation

Before filing ITR, you must reconcile four documents. A mismatch between any two is a scrutiny trigger.

description Form 16 FROM EMPLOYER

Annual TDS certificate for salary. Part A shows TDS details (employer PAN, TDS amount, quarter-wise breakdown). Part B shows salary breakdown and taxable income. Issued by 15 June.

info Form 26AS ANNUAL STATEMENT

Annual tax statement showing TDS deducted by all deductors (employer, banks, clients), TCS collected, refunds issued, and self-assessment tax paid.

summarize AIS — Annual Information Statement COMPREHENSIVE

Shows all financial transactions — salary, interest, dividends, mutual fund purchases, property, foreign remittances. This is what the department sees. Any unreported transaction here is a red flag.

checklist TIS — Taxpayer Information Summary SIMPLIFIED AIS

Simplified version of AIS showing aggregated values by category. Useful for quick reconciliation — compare TIS values with your ITR figures.

MISMATCH = SCRUTINY TRIGGER

If Form 16 shows ₹8,00,000 salary but AIS shows ₹10,00,000, the department will ask questions. Always cross-check: Form 16 ↔ 26AS ↔ AIS ↔ ITR. Report all income, even if TDS was not deducted.

Compliance Calendar — FY 2026-27

Here is your month-by-month compliance timeline for FY 2026-27:

APR

APR 2026 Regime Choice

New regime is default. If you want old regime, file ITR accordingly.

JUN

JUN 2026 Advance Tax 1

Pay 15% of total tax liability by 15 June.

JUL

JUL 2026 Form 16

Receive Form 16 from employer by 15 July.

JUL

JUL 2027 ITR Filing

File ITR by 31 July (non-audit) / 31 October (audit) / 30 November (TP).

SEP

SEP 2026 Advance Tax 2

Pay cumulative 45% of total tax by 15 September.

DEC

DEC 2026 Advance Tax 3

Pay cumulative 75% of total tax by 15 December.

DEC

DEC 2027 Revised Return

Last date to file revised return for FY 2026-27 is 31 December 2027.

MAR

MAR 2027 Advance Tax 4

Pay 100% of total tax by 15 March. Presumptive taxpayers: single instalment.

SET REMINDERS NOW

Missing even one advance tax instalment costs interest under 234C. Set calendar alerts for all four advance tax dates. File ITR by 31 July if you can — don't wait for the last week.